Doolittle: Let's give anthem protesters 'a reason to stand'
Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell's protests continued Friday in Texas when the 26-year-old took a knee during the national anthem before taking on the Rangers.
It was the first time Maxwell protested in an opposing team's ballpark, and he was booed by the crowd.
Related: A's Maxwell booed again in Texas after taking a knee
Maxwell's protest, which mirrors those of NFL players, including Colin Kaepernick, has obviously sparked debate, but former teammate Sean Doolittle of the Washington Nationals had a message of his own when he was asked by ESPN's Jerry Crasnick what his response is to athletes who kneel.
"I think American democracy is strong enough to have that conversation. I think my patriotism is strong enough to not be offended when somebody takes a knee during the anthem. That's not something I take personally. It's something that makes me want to reach out to that person and have a conversation with them and say, 'Let's talk about some of these issues. Tell me about certain things that have caused you to take such a stand.'
"I want to have these conversations with guys like Bruce Maxwell and guys in other leagues, and maybe someday we can get to a point where we give them a reason to stand, and they're proud to stand along the other guys that are standing.''
The 31-year-old Doolittle, who was raised in a military family, is a strong advocate for veterans and has worked with his fiancee to raise awareness for the unfortunate situations some end up in upon returning from service.
"My fiancee and I do a lot of work with veterans' issues. Earlier this year, we wrote an op-ed that ran in Sports Illustrated about some of the things we found regarding veterans being wrongly excluded from VA care at a time when they're experiencing a mental health crisis and a suicide epidemic the way they are now. We need to be figuring out ways to expand VA care to take better care of veterans," he explained.
Doolittle, a well-read individual who's been nominated for the Branch Rickey Award and Roberto Clemente Award for his community involvement, also hosted 17 Syrian refugee families for Thanksgiving dinner in 2015 and has taken a supporting interest in LGBTQ issues.